Everybody suffers in their own way, okay? Don't judge! Sometimes when somebody loves a fish in a very special way, that person is unhappy when the fish can't be shipped from Japan, on the other side of the world. READ MORE »

In a credible mainstream news publication, a famous physician with top credentials from the best medical school in the nation counsels us not to worry about the possibility of Curly-san, Larry-san, and Moe-san managing to melt down their reactors and catch the uranium on fire (thus emitting tons of heavy isotopes that will be radioactive for decades). This walking encyclopedia of medical knowledge, gained from years of study at top universities, advises us that radiation is actually good for us.

Oh wait, no, that was clownhall.com and that was Our Lady of the Skanky Black Cocktail Dress, Ann "The Man" Coulter. Whose only medical degree is her temperature once she gets into full vitriol rant mode.

Hmm.... anybody else think Ann's stinky little cocktail dress that she's been wearing for the past few decades has maybe cut the flow of blood away from her brains, which apparently reside in her testicles? Hmm?

-- Badtux the Snarky Penguin

And for the record: Burning uranium *bad* for people and critters both, 'kay?

"He grew up and nobody knew him. You know! When you interview people, if ever I got the nomination, if I ever decide to run, you may go back and interview people from my kindergarten. They'll remember me. Nobody ever comes forward about Obama. Nobody knows who he is until later in his life. It's very strange. The whole thing is very strange." - Donald Trump, working to earn his teabagger bona fides from World Net Daily.

Trump is a "really smart guy" who has declared bankruptcy three times, but he has his doubts about President Obama's birth certificate.

The Republican primaries haven't even started and only one person has even declared their candidacy for the Republican nomination, but they're already falling over each other to establish their Tea Party street-cred. By the time an actual nominee emerges, they will be a birther, 10ther, rapturist, gay-bashing, consummate Teabagger who wants to make it illegal to be anything other than a rich, white Christian.

This Saturday the moon makes its closest approach to Earth in 18 years in what astronomers call an "extreme supermoon."

If no clouds get in the way, it should be a great night for stargazers. But the moon, which will appear about 10 to 15 percent larger than normal, could create abnormally high tides from Friday through Sunday, experts say. And that could mean beach erosion and minor flooding along the shoreline. "The tides are definitely going to be higher, not only in Florida, but worldwide," said astronomer Arnold Pearlstein. The best time to view the moon will be at sunset — about 7 p.m. — on Saturday, when it will be closest to the horizon and should look "huge and orangey," Pearlstein said.

The two Roman Catholic bishops in North Dakota issued guidelines last week naming several well-known, and in some cases, church-related, organizations they say Catholics should not support, with money or volunteer work.

Bishop Samuel Aquila of the Fargo diocese and Bishop Paul Zipfel of the Bismarck diocese, released a joint document "Guidelines on Charitable Giving," on Ash Wednesday, March 9.

You may be wondering why the church wants to dry up revenues to certain charities: it's because they also directly or indirectly support contraception, stem cell research, abortion, or equality for homosexuals. It doesn't matter what good they do.

You may also be wondering what organizations were condemned. Here they are.

The American Association of University Women

Amnesty International

Crop Walk (an anti-hunger organization)

Church World Services

The March of Dimes

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Planned Parenthood (no surprise)

UNICEF

I'm sure, though, that the reason you wondered about that is because this must be a pretty good list of organizations worth supporting with your charitable donations. You can always rely on the Catholic church's moral compass — whatever direction it points, you should go the other way.

President Carebear tells us that we should not be worried about the glowing Plume'o'Death heading to the US. "I want to be very clear: We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the U.S., whether it's the west coast, Hawaii, Alaska, or the U.S. territories in the Pacific," Obama said in the Rose Garden. (ABC)

…but just in case it is a glowing Plume'o'Death - Today President Carebear heads to Latin America on his Anywhere but Here Tour. Say "Hi" to our jobs there, OK? (AP)

Kenyan-Irish Connection - In May, the Anywhere but Here Tour goes to Ireland, where Obama will visit the village of his ancestors when he travels to Ireland. Should it be O'Bama? *rimshot* (Daily Mail)

Harry Sargeant III gave a boatload of money to Republicans. The Pentagon gave him the contracts by effectively rigging the bidding process to make them single-source no-bid contracts.

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If Pakistan is an ally, why are we attacking them? If they're the enemy, why aren't we attacking them directly? 'Cause this neither one nor the other bullshit is making things worse. "Pakistan's army chief has condemned the latest raid by US unmanned drones as "intolerable and unjustified". In a strongly worded statement, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the attack, which killed about 40 people, was "in complete violation of human rights". Most of the victims were believed to be civilians attending a tribal meeting near North Waziristan's regional capital, Miranshah. Tension has been growing in recent weeks between the US and Pakistan. The US drone attacks are a long-running source of bad feeling, but the acquittal of CIA contractor Raymond Davis of murder has sparked protests across Pakistan. The Pakistani military often makes statements regretting the loss of life in such incidents, but rarely criticises the attacks themselves. Gen Kayani, however, said such "acts of violence" make it harder to fight terrorism. "It is highly regrettable that a jirga [meeting] of peaceful citizens including elders of the area was carelessly and callously targeted with complete disregard to human life," he said."

The good news (?) is that the State Department has begun rescuing Americans and their families from the quake/tsunami/radiation-battered northeast coast of Japan. The bad news is that the rescue is just a bus to Tokyo, and you'll need to sign a form promising to pay the bus fare. Still, rescue! And with some 80,000 people in Fukushima Prefecture advised by the Japanese government to clear out because of the little problem with the nuke plant, it is probably a good idea for Americans stuck there to look under the futon for some spare change and head to the bus stop. We've got the official communique. READ MORE »

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So this will insure that no one reads it online and no bloggers link it. Pinch continues to set new records in fucktardery.The New York Times has said it will start charging North American users for some of its online content. The newspaper will initially charge readers in Canada, with its US audience facing charges from 28 March. Different charges will apply depending on whether readers use a smartphone, a computer or an iPad. The newspaper hopes to make up for lost revenue as newspaper sales have fallen and as advertising earnings have slipped. "Our decision to begin charging for digital access will result in another source of revenue, strengthening our ability to continue to invest in the journalism and digital innovation," said chairman and publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr."

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Just hangin' with da lord

Sarah Palin to visit Israel, where Jesus lives

Haha, did you think she was really going away? NEVER. Not until the last nickel is grifted! Sarah Palin is doing an International Lecture Tour, which will consist of one speech (in India, because why not?) and then a second stop in Fox News' closest strategic American ally, Israel. You don't just "go to India," wherever that is, without stopping at Jesus' house. (Wait 'til she finds out Jesus is just some gay programmer who shares a flat in Tel Aviv by the dance clubs with his boyfriend, an Arab.) Why do wingnut Republicans considering a White House run always go to Israel? WE TOLD YOU IDIOTS ALREADY, because it's where Jesus lives. Wait 'til she finds out those Israelis are all Jews! (Hopefully she will convert them real quick to the Church of Our Intolerable Wasilla Grifter.) READ MORE »

Libya declared a ceasefire in the country to protect civilians and comply with a United Nations resolution passed overnight, Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa said on Friday.

"We decided on an immediate ceasefire and on an immediate stop to all military operations," he told reporters.

Earlier Friday, Moammar Gadhafi's regime defiantly closed Libya's airspace to all traffic while the West made plans to enforce a no-fly zone and prevent his forces from attacking rebels after the UN authorized "all necessary measures" to protect the Libyan people, including airstrikes.

...

So, now what?

Do we just sit back and merely enforce the no fly zone? Do we continue with the military buildup and pursue "regime change"? Or do we live with a stalemate until Gadhafi figures out how to bring the rebelling tribes into 'compliance' covertly?

With all the bullshit going around since this shit started (Should we help the rebels, should we not? - Who should help the rebels, who should not?), I'll betcha nobody gamed out this scenario.

So what should our forces do if Qaddafi quashes the rebellion despite the no-fly zone? Do we slink away quietly? Or, as is perhaps more likely, do we escalate our military intervention with either more aggressive rules of engagement, or the introduction of ground forces, to rescue the routed rebels? Shouldn't we consider whether we want to take on such a commitment before we head down a path of supposed limited intervention that could tilt steeply toward a much deeper involvement?